Electrical Pet Fencing

Magnettica

How should I go about repairing a broken line for one of these electrical fences? I've never installed one, repaired one, or even seen one. Are they buried underground? Is it a laser beam of some sort?

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mdshunk

They're dirt simple. They're just a buried THWN wire! They send out an AM radio signal. It's just a single strand around the yard in a big loop. Where both ends of the loop come together, they are twisted for the home run to the transmitter in the house. The twist cancels the signal, so that the dog can cross the home run without getting zapped. The typical repair is a Sta-kon type butt splice. I wouldn't get too excited about weatherizing the connection. You could squirt a dab of silicone into each end of the butt splice if you wanted to go hog wild. These things are only buried a couple of inches, so if they recently had landscaping done there could be lots of cuts.

Teetorbilt

Not that effective on large, active dogs either. They'll rip over the line chasing something and then not be able to wander back in. I have a friend with hunting dogs, he has this problem.

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mdshunk

There are ways around that for headstrong dogs. I used to install the 'Invisible Fence' brand systems. One effective method was to put more than one receiver on the dog's collar (sometimes three), and turn the transmitter range up more. That always cured the problem.

Magnettica

Good to know.

Thanks again, Marc!

I always try to do anything I can for any repeat customer, but I don't know everything. This lady will be thrilled when I tell I'll be able to fix her problem. Many, many, thanks!

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mdshunk

These things are famous for getting hit by lightning. If you fix the suspected breaks, and the thing still doesn't work, take the lightning arrestor out of the loop (little box, next to the transmitter) and see if that works. If so, the lightning arrestor is shot. If she has no lightning arrestor, and she took a lightning hit, the transmitter is probably toast. Just some FYI stuff that may or may not apply to you...

By the way, the easiest way to find out if you've found all the breaks is to just ohm out between both leads of the loop. (Sorry if that was sorta remedial, but it just doesn't "click" for some people.)

Have a ball

Magnettica

I completely understand the canceling out of signals and ohming out the line to find some level of resistance in the wire. I just spoke to the lady and it sounds like I'll be replacing the entire line. Her next door neighbor had a tree dug up and apparently one of the roots cut up the wire.

Thanks again for the advice

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Electrician service in Rahway, Cranford, Clark, Westfield, Mountainside, Scotch Plains, Fanwood, Roselle, Roselle Park, and New Jersey | Same day electrical service and repairs | Licensed and Insured Electrician in Rahway

mdshunk

A good DIY method (I use that term with some hesitation) to lay the wire is to get a good stout gasoline powered lawn edger to make the little slit in the turf to tuck the THHN down into. If you need to cross a sidewalk or driveway, cut a shallow slot in it with a carborundum blade in a Skil saw, lay the wire in, and fill with crack filler.